This report is a conclusion of experiences of attempts to boost innovation made by two different professions. The first is the policy practitioner, represented by participants in the GLOVAL project, (Global Value Chains as an Emerging Challenge for National and European Research and Technological Development Policies) where representatives of 10 EU member states participated. The second is the researcher, represented by scholars engaged in a wide variety of disciplines; from economic history, history of technology, science and technology studies, economic anthropology, to business studies with empirical based studies of innovation as the common denominator.